The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-07-12
The Present Condition and Future
Prospects of the Knights of Labor.
The Organization Seriously Demoralized by
the Clashing Ambitions of the Men Who
Desire to Control Its Workings.
The Brooklyn Elevated Roads Tied Up
by Sudden Strike of Engineers.
Tie Strikers in the Coke Region Not Yet
Ready to Abandon the Contest-Chicago
Wants Brick-Layers-General Notes.
THE KNIGHTS OF LABOR.

THE KNIGHTS OF LABOR
Sketches Of Their Leaders and tho Disorder
Produced by Their Ambition.
New York Tribune
The condition of the knights of Labor il such
as to give serious concern to those who have the
interest Of the labor movement generally and the
order especially at heart and it is the general
opinion that unless some immediate action is
taken to allay the i'll feeling which exists, not
only between the Knights and other trades or
CARNATIONS, but between different factions in
the order itself, its days of usefulness will soon
be over. it, indeed. it docs not fall to pieces and
60 out Of existence.
A little over year ago General Master Work
man Powderly was at the head of . strong,
compact organization, numbering three quarters
OF million toers. He was looked upon as q
second Moses. and his lightest word was regarded
as law. Relations of the most friendly character
existed between the Knights and the powerful
trades-unions, many Of which were seriously
considering the proposition to give up their sep
arate organizations and go into the knights in
body. To-day the knights are as strong nu-
mericaly. perhaps, as they were at that time. but
the character of the membership has materially
changed. In all parts of tho country the skilled
mechanics. the men who gave strength to the
organization, are leaving it by scores, and their
places are being filed by the more igno-
rant and worse paid class of laborers. men who
have no conception of the aim of the order, who
look on it simply machine which will at
once force their wages MP and which will enable
them to dictate in the most outrageous fashion
to the employers who hurry the order into the
most senseless strikes. from which the leaders
seem to be utterly unable to extricate them,
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before both materially and morally
The order itself to day broken up into
anxious to cut the others throat than it is to
devote its energies to the common welfare and
to the furtnering OF the principles on which the
order is founded. By persistent course of
warranted interference in trade-affars the good
will of the big trades unions has been turned to
an active hatred mingled with fear, and 1t 10 i'm
assembly of the Knights of Labor or of a trades
union without hearing more than half of the
time devoted to the denunciation of some other
local or district assembly or trades-union. The
word of General Master Workman Powderly.
from being law, is now the signal for determined
opposition from large and influential section of
the order.
AS result of this state Of affairs the Knights
of Labor may be credited during the past year
and half with an unbroken record of defeats
whenever it has Joined issue with employers.
The only exception to this was the street
troubles in this city, which were won
by the men themselves without the
board Beginning with the Southwest
railroad strikes taking in the beef packers strike
in Chicago, the knit goods strike in Amsterdam.
the laundry workers strike in Troy, the cotton
strikes in Augusta, Ga, the Iongshorem mems
strike in this city and the shoe troubles in Mas
sachusetts, and countless smaller strikes
: throughout the country, all have been dismal
failures which have left the order in state OF
financial collapse and with prestige almost
tirely DESTROYED: The causes which have led to
this state of affairs manifold. Among the
opponents of the present administration it is
claimed that the critical condition of the order
is due to the incompetency and reckless person
al am billions of the present executive ofie ers OF
the order. The men who have the power now
are Terence v. Powderly the general master
tary; Thomas B. Barry, John w. HAYES. Will
lam Fl. Bailey, Albert q. Carlton, Thomas r.
Mcclure and Ira B. Aylesworth forming tire
general executive board.
Mr. Powderly is a man Of ability-even h's
worst enemies admit .hat-but it is claimed by
his enemies that he is extremely susceptible TO
fattery, proud of his position and willing to do
anything to retain it and without the backbone
to do what he knows is right when ne thinks it
will be unpopular. In other words the position
has outgrown his ability to fill IT. Charles h.
Lltchman is a sharp shrewd politician, knows
what he wants and generally manages to get IT,
He has great deal Of influence with Powdery.
and is bitter opponent of trades unions. He
comes from Massachusetts and has been called
the Ben Butler" OF the order He aspires to tho
general master workmanship Thomas B.
Barry. the senior member OF the &c neral execu-
tive board, is ax-maker by trade. He comea
from East Saginaw. where he is extremely
popular. He is not educated man, but has
fund of common sense which makes mp in part
for the deficiency. Barry is one of the hardest
fighters on the board and has record of being
the most successful in the settlement of trouble.
John w. Hayes is at present proprietor of
grocery store in New Brunswick. New Jersey.
He was a railroad brakeman ard lost arm
while at work. He then learned teegraphy, but
at the time of the big strike in 1883 went into
the grocery business. He is man of ordinary
intelligence, little force of character, and does
as Powdery tells him.
William f. Bailey is coal miner and halls
from Shawnee, o., where he was for several
years chief Of police. He is man of Immense
physical power, but otherwise is not heavy
weight and what he doesn't know about mining
strikes would fill book. Albert o. Carlton,
of Massachusetts, is a shoemaker by trade de
is man of good education and IS one OF the con-
servative m en- bers of the order He is a leader
of big district assembly No. 30. of Massachu-
SETS but has not particularly distinguished him
member of the board. Thomas B. Mcclure, of
Now York. is regarded as the Mephistopheles OK
the board. He is New Yorker. a truck driver,
and the representative Of district assembly No.
49, He has the credit OF having organized the
Home Club. and on its ruins the class" Nc
CURE is q man Of strong personality, hard
fighter and has natural talent for
intrigue and combination. He has many
bitter enemies, and in his efforts TO knock
them out is given credit for nearly all the Ills
under which the knights are now suffering Up
to the Cleveland session of the General Assem-
bly, he and the Home Club faction were bitter
enemies to Powderly and Litchmau, but It was
found there that unless combination was made
both the factions stood a good chance of being
wiped OUT Through McGuire's efforts tho
combination was made The result was the ex-
pulsion OF the cigar-makers from the order; the
election of Mcclure to the executive board, the
increase Of the of Office to two years, the
placing of Litchman N the seeretary's chair at
| So 900 year, the increase of pay Of General
| Master Workman Powderiy and Frederick w.
| Turner, the treasurer. the busting OF John u.
| Caville. the general auditor and Homer L Nc,
| Cav, the insurance secretary, both determined
| enemies of McGuire; and the illegal changes In
| the constitution, the enforcement of which may
| cause split in the order.
| Since McGuires election he has in some man
| ner gained almost complete control OF Posderiy
/ and the general executive board. and the whoie
| power of the order has been used to kill on his
/ personal enemies-witn-ss the suspendea sus-
| pension Of the printers district who opposed
| some of his schemes in this city; the SUSPENSION
/ of the Montauk people in Brooklyn. and ths ex-